


Snake Hair

by connormurphyfangirl (hamburrfangirl)



Series: Gorgon Connor Murphy AU [1]
Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Connor Murphy Lives (Dear Evan Hansen), Depression, Fluff and Angst, Gorgon Connor Murphy, Gorgons (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Greek Myths, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Light Angst, M/M, Marijuana, Mythical Beings & Creatures, References to Depression, Therapy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-09-28 17:51:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20430020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hamburrfangirl/pseuds/connormurphyfangirl
Summary: Connor Murphy hated his ancestry. His father was half human and half giant. How that worked, Connor was afraid to ask. It was a long history of half human and half giant, so most of his relatives were above height average and had a ferocious appetite. Connor’s mother on the other was from a direct line of gorgons. His mother hadn’t inherited the stone eyes, but she did have the snake hair and scaly skin. Connor’s sister took all the luck in the gene pool. She only inherited their mother’s skin and a small pair of wings that were easy to hide. Connor on the other hand seemed to have inherited his father’s awkward height and three out of five gorgons traits; stone eyes, snake hair, and scaly skin. He was just thankful he didn’t have tusks.Or: Connor finally meets people who aren't scared of him.





	Snake Hair

**Author's Note:**

> This oneshot doesn't make a ton of sense, it was mostly me thinking of different things I can do with this au and shoving them into this oneshot without exploring them completely.
> 
> I may come back to this and make it a full fic with more coherent details and storyline, but for now it's staying like this.

In a world of monsters, only one was truly hated and feared; the gorgon. The legend of the gorgon dates back centuries, before the infamous Medusa. Gorgons were perceived as a terrifying species in the stone age as there were no special glasses to shield other creatures from their stony gaze. Now though, as long as a gorgon’s eyes are safely hidden, they can exist among humans and monsters, but just because they could exist peacefully doesn’t mean the people around them didn’t fear them. Humans and gorgons had a long relationship, they existed together before the dragon and vampire species appeared. Humans killed many gorgons after Perseus showed that it was possible and the gorgons were forced to retreat even more than they already had.

Finally, after centuries of fear on both ends, the two species saw each other again for the first time. A human man foolishly stumbled into a deep cave and came across a gorgon village. Somehow, in a way lost to time, the man met a gorgon and he became infatuated. He fled the cave with the conviction to unite gorgons and humans. He met in secret with his beloved gorgon and together, they spent years developing special glasses that a gorgon could wear without fear of turning anything to stone. When they succeeded, it took another twenty years to unite humans and gorgons and even then, gorgons faced hatred and fear. It took many more years for the gorgons to fully integrate themselves into human society and to peacefully coexist.

Connor Murphy hated his ancestry. His father was half human and half giant. How that worked, Connor was afraid to ask. It was a long history of half human and half giant, so most of his relatives were above height average and had a ferocious appetite. Connor’s mother on the other was from a direct line of gorgons. His mother hadn’t inherited the stone eyes, but she did have the snake hair and scaly skin. Connor’s sister took all the luck in the gene pool. She only inherited their mother’s skin and a small pair of wings that were easy to hide. Connor on the other hand seemed to have inherited his father’s awkward height and three out of five gorgons traits; stone eyes, snake hair, and scaly skin. He was just thankful he didn’t have tusks.

School was hell though. He had to constantly wear glasses and he faced bullying and isolation for his hair and skin. Elementary school and middle school was so bad that his parents sent him to a special private school that accepted specialized monsters. It was there that he met Miguel. Connor didn’t care much that he was a phoenix. He didn’t really care that Miguel had set more things on fire than not because Miguel was… beautiful. He was beautiful and Connor knew it was dangerous to get close, but he couldn’t help himself. Miguel’s flames drew him in and Connor didn’t care if he got burnt.

Months passed and Connor’s life was good. No one at his new school cared about his gorgon status and he had his first friend in years. Of course, it all went to shit when Connor started to get too comfortable. Weed was discovered in Miguel’s locker and he faced expulsion. Connor didn’t want to lose his friend and because of that fear, he did something stupid.

He took the fall.

Connor returned to the high school in his catchment and the bullying from his childhood. His self-destructive tendencies reared their ugly head and his fragile glass cracked and overflowed. The more he was bullied and isolated, the more furious he became. With no one else to turn on, his arguments with his family grew in length and frequency. Zoe escaped to her friend’s houses whenever she could and Connor escaped to the comfort of drugs and self-harm.

He attempted suicide in his senior year. His family, horrified and frightened, sent him to a hospital where he finally,  _ finally _ , got treatment for his various mental health issues. He got better. It was slow, and by the time he returned to school he was still recovering, but with the help of his therapist and a family that understood better, he began to heal. Going to school was still hard; facing the bullying was even harder, but he got through it.

College was a totally different ballgame than high school. For one, no one gave a shit about his appearance. He got a few glances, but then again most monsters did. Anyone who didn’t look like a normal human did.

Because of his eyes, the school gave him his own dorm room for a discounted price, but it wasn’t like his family couldn’t afford it. The dorm was cramped, it only fit a desk, bed and closet, along with a mirror and sink. He had a shared bathroom, but the mirror and sink were in the separate dorm rooms instead of the actual bathroom. A little weird, but Connor didn’t care all that much.

Classes were fun. He enjoyed his Creature Myths and History class. He was the only gorgon in class, so the students enjoyed talking to him. He enjoyed debunking their ridiculous myths and stereotypes. It was in that class he met Alana Beck. She had some gorgon blood in her family, but it was very distant so she didn’t have any gorgon traits. She did have gorgeous harpy wings though and was intelligent. 

Harpies and gorgons were a type of kin; both species were misunderstood and mistreated by the humans. Connor got along very well with Alana.

“Is there a reason you always wear scarves and turtlenecks?” Alana asked. Connor startled and looked up from his book.

“Uh, kinda?” He said. “Why?”

Alana shrugged and rested her chin on her palm. “I’ve never seen you in anything else; you always wear long sleeves and something to cover your neck.”

“I mostly wear them to keep warm.” Connor answered. “Being gorgon means I’m more sensitive to temperature changes apparently, so I get cold pretty easily.” It was one of the many things that annoyed Connor. Especially since New York could get so fucking cold. “I also used to wear them to cover up my scales. I guess it’s still a habit.” Connor tapped his pencil against the table, praying that his face didn’t give anything away.

Alana stared at him, her eyes too bright, too knowing. In the end, she nodded and accepted his answer and that was the end of it.

It was a freezing day in January. The air was brittle and bit at Connor’s skin as he rushed down the street. His toes were frozen in his boots and his breath came out in small puffs of frosty air. He was sure his nose was pink with the cold. Other pedestrians walked by him with a quick pace, each trying to find cover from the brutal January weather.

Connor was still ten minutes away from the college campus when the cold became too much. His teeth were rattling so hard it was all he could hear as he stepped into a cafe. The warmth sank into his skin and slowly, his shoulders came down from his ears and his chin escaped his scarf. His poor snakes, who had been hiding in a curled up ball under his hood, came out from hiding and licked his hand when he pet them. They absolutely hated the cold, but there wasn’t much Connor could do. It was too much of a hassle to knit or buy twenty different sweaters and put them on his snakes whenever he went outside. It was simpler to hide them under his hood. They could survive.

The line was long with other refugees from the cold, but Connor didn’t mind. Anything to stay inside just a little longer. He went up to the barista and order a large americano. He sighed with bliss when he drank the coffee. He could feel the heat curl up in his stomach and spread across his body.

Connor took a seat as far away from the door as possible and watched as people filtered in and out. After a few minutes of this, he took out his sketchbook and started to draw the scene in front of him. It was a little hard, the people kept shuffling around, but his end product was pretty good.

He smiled as he stood to pack up. He couldn’t wait to show Alana.

It was during the second semester that Alana brought someone new to their study sessions. Connor was taking his textbooks and notebook out of his bag when Alana arrived.

“This is Evan,” she introduced. “He’s in my biology class and needed some help; I hope you don’t mind him being here.”

“Hi, I’m Connor.” Connor said and he shook Evan’s hand. Evan’s smile was a timid thing. His eyes were darting around quite a lot and Connor’s stomach turned. The study session was tense, Connor kept his nose buried in his book while Evan fidgeted in his seat. Alana tried to play mediator, but she couldn’t dispel the stiffness in the air.

Alana stood suddenly. “I’m going to the washroom.” She said.

Connor and Evan both blinked and watched as she left. Connor frowned but returned to his textbook and laptop. He had an essay to write.

“Connor?” Evan’s voice was quiet and stitled. When Connor looked at him, he was staring intently at his lap and picking at his shirt.

“Yeah?”

“I-I think your snakes are really cool!” Evan burst out. Connor froze and stared in disbelief. No one had ever acknowledge his snakes, much less compliment them.

“Excuse me?”

Evan’s cheeks turned pink and he folded in on himself. “I uh, I’ve never met a gorgon before and well, I’m a-a nymph so I um, I just really- nature’s kinda my thing? I like animals.”

Connor continued to stare and Evan’s fidgeting got worse.

“You’re serious.” Connor said. Evan nodded, though he still wouldn’t meet his eyes. Connor bit his lip, considering his options. After a moment, he scooted his chair over.

“D’you wanna pet them?” Connor grinned at the quick pop up of Evan’s head. That couldn’t have been pleasant on his neck but Evan showed no pain. “They don’t bite, promise.”

“You, you’re okay with it?” Evan asked. His hand twitched.

“Go ahead.”

Evan’s hand reached out and Connor was awed to see that it didn’t shake. Curious, his snakes moved towards the strange hand. Evan’s eyes held a wonder to them as he watched the snakes sniff him before curling around his wrist and licking his fingers. Suddenly, Connor found it hard to swallow and his eyes burned.

“Do they have names?”

Connor’s voice was shaky when he answered. “Y-yeah, actually.” He took a breath. Get a hold Murphy, he scolded. Getting so emotional over a simple question. Pathetic. He repressed a sigh. He would have to talk about that fun thought with his therapist.

“This is Emily, Agnes, Bucky, Angie, Jules, Prince, Adam, Thyme, May, Harry, Ron, Benjamin, Hermione, Natasha, Sebastian, Sage, and Jormungand.” Connor listed. Each snake flicked out their tongue at their names. Connor huffed. “My sister named the last one. She thinks she’s funny.”

“I like them.” Evan murmured and Connor tensed when his hand brushed his scalp. He bit down on his lip to resist shuddering and letting out an embarrassing noise. When Alana returned, Connor was a pile of melted goo and halfway into Evan’s lap.

**Author's Note:**

> This oneshot was inspired by [this fanart](https://connormurphyfangirl.tumblr.com/post/187296580161/merry-the-cookie-did-somebody-say-gorgon-connor)!


End file.
